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You are here: Home > Business > Marketing > Small Business Marketing Strategy - Use Achievers to Validate, Implement and Criticize |
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Suggest You - Small Business Marketing Strategy - Use Achievers to Validate, Implement and Criticize
Are Corporations Doomed to Fail? ents. Big companies should listen to their achiever base more; some could avoid millions of dollars in losses if they did.Many people believe that the Public Mega Corporations are eventually doomed to fail and of course there are many reasons for this. One of the most common reasons cited by media is Corporate Malfeasance. Another one which some free-market economists note is that the Stock Market is now a gambling casino and still others make light of the fact that corporate greed from those at the top is out of control. Of course someone once said something interesting about Absolute Power.If any of these comments strike you as interesting topics or you think that any of these points are indeed valid You can be nimbler than these big companies. You are plugged in at a much closer level to the customer. But, the most valuable thing achievers do, is implement. You can devise the slickest marketing idea ever, but if nobody in your company is sufficiently behind it to put it into action, you’ll go nowhere. Think back to o Resistance to Change and How to Deal With It As mentioned in an earlier article, a Bloom Team made up of four or five of your achievers can really accelerate your marketing. This Bloom Team can be used to:The new financial management system was installed, new procedures distributed and office staff trained. And yet, the number of accounting errors had increased. Does this sound familiar? Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and managers come to naught – or worse still, sends progress backwards. Even if it isn’t obvious, perhaps your people are resisting the change.Why People Resist ChangeNo matter how well designed and planned your change program is, not everyone will be singing its praises. People resist change for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from a strai
When an achiever validates one of your ideas, she lets you know your thinking is on the right track. Coaxing creative ideas to the surface is a recurring marketing challenge. Not all your ideas will generate a positive change for your company. To create is to risk. You’ll never discover completely fresh ideas or combine old ideas in innovative ways unless you are willing to climb onto some fresh limbs. And that means that yes, sometimes you are going to fall. Some of your best creative ideas will wind up being outlandishly stupid. That’s okay! If a few of your proposals aren’t a little bit out there then you are stuck in creative first gear and need to upshift your imagination a notch or two. So, an achiever can help you by validating your ideas. Of course the market is always the ultimate test of any marketing concept. And who is “the market”, if it’s not your clients? Some of your achievers will be in touch with your clients in a much friendlier manner than you. Others will be in contact with clients in different and distinct ways from you. Of course achievers can and should also criticize your marketing ideas. The last thing you need is a bunch of so-called “yes-men” or “yes-women” on your team. You know your customers aren’t “yes-customers”. They tell you what they want and can be pretty blunt about it. Nothing wrong with that; it speeds us on the way to making the sale. But often your best achievers intuit when a new marketing idea runs counter to your brand and your marketing mission. Openly listening to Bloom Team feedback is never more critical than at these moments. Big companies should listen to their achiever base more; some could avoid millions of dollars in losses if they did. You can be nimbler than these big companies. You are plugged in at a much closer level to the customer. But, the most valuable thing achievers do, is implement. You can devise the slickest marketing idea ever, but if nobody in your company is sufficiently behind it to put it into action, you’ll go nowhere. Think back to ot Employment Job Searching Using the Internet sitive change for your company. To create is to risk. You’ll never discover completely fresh ideas or combine old ideas in innovative ways unless you are willing to climb onto some fresh limbs.Finding employment opportunities has never been easier than now- with the consistent and constant growth of the Internet. Using the Internet, job seekers can simply find vacancies of their choice in the location of their choice. With a simple click of the mouse, a huge list of job opportunities is literally at their fingertips.Once upon a time, the only way job seekers can find jobs is by browsing the classifieds section of the paper. This method of job seeking is not only tiring (what with the small prints) but it is limited within the area where the job seeker is residing. Job seek And that means that yes, sometimes you are going to fall. Some of your best creative ideas will wind up being outlandishly stupid. That’s okay! If a few of your proposals aren’t a little bit out there then you are stuck in creative first gear and need to upshift your imagination a notch or two. So, an achiever can help you by validating your ideas. Of course the market is always the ultimate test of any marketing concept. And who is “the market”, if it’s not your clients? Some of your achievers will be in touch with your clients in a much friendlier manner than you. Others will be in contact with clients in different and distinct ways from you. Of course achievers can and should also criticize your marketing ideas. The last thing you need is a bunch of so-called “yes-men” or “yes-women” on your team. You know your customers aren’t “yes-customers”. They tell you what they want and can be pretty blunt about it. Nothing wrong with that; it speeds us on the way to making the sale. But often your best achievers intuit when a new marketing idea runs counter to your brand and your marketing mission. Openly listening to Bloom Team feedback is never more critical than at these moments. Big companies should listen to their achiever base more; some could avoid millions of dollars in losses if they did. You can be nimbler than these big companies. You are plugged in at a much closer level to the customer. But, the most valuable thing achievers do, is implement. You can devise the slickest marketing idea ever, but if nobody in your company is sufficiently behind it to put it into action, you’ll go nowhere. Think back to o Winning the Battle and the War - Negotiation Success ination a notch or two.Everyday we enter into a variety of negotiations with prospective employees, current employees, and vendors. Though the situations are different, there are some basic guidelines that will ensure negotiation success.It is important to remember that the most successful negotiations are entered into and conducted with good faith. This does not necessarily mean giving into every demand or sacrificing your position, but it does mean going into negotiation sessions with the intention of listening, compromising when necessary, and with the spirit of fairness. One good way t So, an achiever can help you by validating your ideas. Of course the market is always the ultimate test of any marketing concept. And who is “the market”, if it’s not your clients? Some of your achievers will be in touch with your clients in a much friendlier manner than you. Others will be in contact with clients in different and distinct ways from you. Of course achievers can and should also criticize your marketing ideas. The last thing you need is a bunch of so-called “yes-men” or “yes-women” on your team. You know your customers aren’t “yes-customers”. They tell you what they want and can be pretty blunt about it. Nothing wrong with that; it speeds us on the way to making the sale. But often your best achievers intuit when a new marketing idea runs counter to your brand and your marketing mission. Openly listening to Bloom Team feedback is never more critical than at these moments. Big companies should listen to their achiever base more; some could avoid millions of dollars in losses if they did. You can be nimbler than these big companies. You are plugged in at a much closer level to the customer. But, the most valuable thing achievers do, is implement. You can devise the slickest marketing idea ever, but if nobody in your company is sufficiently behind it to put it into action, you’ll go nowhere. Think back to o Staff Motivation The last thing you need is a bunch of so-called “yes-men” or “yes-women” on your team. You know your customers aren’t “yes-customers”. They tell you what they want and can be pretty blunt about it. Nothing wrong with that; it speeds us on the way to making the sale.I’ve been promoted at work recently and I realize that one of the key skills I need to have is the ability to motivate my staff, especially when big projects crop up and a lot of extra time and overtime is necessary. Good thing I have a mentor who has taught me a lot about these things. My aunt was once an owner and CEO of a successful company that provided medical supplies in the field of cryogenics. I have heard many of her past employees refer to her as the “queen of staff motivation.” Even then, I remembered thinking that I wanted to be thought of in the same way one day. Her methods we But often your best achievers intuit when a new marketing idea runs counter to your brand and your marketing mission. Openly listening to Bloom Team feedback is never more critical than at these moments. Big companies should listen to their achiever base more; some could avoid millions of dollars in losses if they did. You can be nimbler than these big companies. You are plugged in at a much closer level to the customer. But, the most valuable thing achievers do, is implement. You can devise the slickest marketing idea ever, but if nobody in your company is sufficiently behind it to put it into action, you’ll go nowhere. Think back to o Minding Your Own Brand - Why Did They Boo Damon and Not Pedro? ents. Big companies should listen to their achiever base more; some could avoid millions of dollars in losses if they did.Both left Boston on bad terms, both left for “better contracts”, and both went to New York teams. So why upon their return, did Red Sox fans give Pedro Martinez a standing ovation and gave Johnny Damon a round of boos? I think Pedro summed it up best in his press conference, “Johnny put on the wrong uniform” and Red Sox Nation let him know it.You will never find people more loyal, faithful, and passionate about a brand than Red Sox fans. Even though they were not winners for 86 years, fans stuck by this brand through all the high and the very low moments in this brand’s history.< You can be nimbler than these big companies. You are plugged in at a much closer level to the customer. But, the most valuable thing achievers do, is implement. You can devise the slickest marketing idea ever, but if nobody in your company is sufficiently behind it to put it into action, you’ll go nowhere. Think back to other jobs you’ve worked, when “management” had some new wonderful directive they wanted to introduce and ensure everybody followed. A memo on a bulletin board or a short speech from a supervisor were all the notice that most of us ever got, especially when we were at lower, entry-level jobs. Unless we worked in a very intimate setting where there were ten people or fewer, we were usually distanced from management. So implementing the new order became as joyful as a forced march. Your Bloom Team can be the vehicle to help you change this type of top-down, dictatorial marketing style in your small business. The achievers must become active carriers of the marketing message to the rest of the company. They are like missionaries, spreading the new marketing word out to the employees that haven’t yet heard it. The achievers will buy-in to the marketing ideas because they are active in the creation of these ideas. Since they believe, they’ll be able to convince many of the employees, simply because of their positions of respect and authority in the company. Most achievers are viewed as respected peers by other employees. On some level they are perceived as co-workers, even if they are in supervisory positions. Your marketing ideas can be effectively implemented within the company when you have a small cadre of achievers pushing forward for you--your very own Bloom Team to help the company flourish and grow. One final tip: Create a “New Idea VIC Checklist”. This tool can help you with any new idea you are launching. It could be a new campaign, a new brand headline, a new media push. The main idea is this: Use a checklist or some other type of cheat-sheet as an aide in your meetings. If you can’t fill out during the Bloom Team meeting, then please fill out immediately afterward. At the top of the page, insert a brief description of
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